Christmas shoppers might have thought the global retail giant had forgotten them, but that is not the case: from watches to office supplies, Amazon Australia will be hitting the “live” button today.

After years of speculation and several libraries’ worth of analysis from local retailers about the impact of the launch, the Australian arm of the billion-dollar platform will be open for business with three weeks of festive spending still left in the year.

Contrary to suggestions from the Grattan Institute, Australian industry is becoming more concentrated particularly in consumer-facing sectors, but the good news is that technology can break down barriers to entry.

The ACCCAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission
The ACCC is Australia's competition regulator and national consumer law champion. has a full workload with another of its gas industry reviews looking at the industry’s delivery of promises to increase east coast supply. This report is on top of its inquiry into retail electricity, insurance in northern Australia, residential mortgage products, the dairy industry, new car retailing, broadband and the telecoms sector in general.

The small business ombudsman will launch an inquiry into dispute resolution processes for conflicts between smaller operators and big business and governments, saying the current system leaves SMEs in “no man’s land”.

Launching the inquiry this morning, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell explained the investigation would look to canvas where small businesses typically go when faced with a dispute, as well as key trends in dispute resolution given the small business community is faced with a costly and complicated court system when it comes to many issues.

The market power of Facebook and Google and their impact on the Australian media will be the subject of a new investigation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCCAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission
The ACCC is Australia's competition regulator and national consumer law champion.).

Treasurer Scott MorrisonThe Hon. Scott Morrison, Federal Member for Cook
Treasurer from 21.9.15 and the Communications Minister directed the competition watchdog to look at the impact digital companies are having on the media and advertising sectors. The inquiry honours a commitment to former independent senator Nick Xenophon to examine the behaviour of the global digital giants as part of a deal to support media reform.

Google, Facebook and other digital platforms will be put under the microscope as the competition watchdog dives into whether technology giants are exercising market power in commercial dealings to the detriment of consumers, media and advertisers.

The highly anticipated inquiry, which was a condition of a deal the Turnbull government struck with Nick Xenophon for his party’s support for media reform , will see the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission examine the market power of Silicon Valley heavyweights who are vacuuming up digital advertising revenue while benefiting from the content created by traditional media, such as newspapers and television.

Facebook, Google and other technology giants’ role in spreading fake news stories and diverting advertising away from traditional media will be put under the microscope after the government directed the competition regulator to undertake an inquiry into digital platforms.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had been asked to scrutinise major digital platforms and their impacts on media, journalism and advertising, ACCCAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission
The ACCC is Australia's competition regulator and national consumer law champion. chairman Rod Sims said on Monday.

The number of Australian tech unicorns — billion-dollar, world-changing companies — is growing and local investors are racing to pick the next blockbuster success story.

Atlassian is often cited as Australia’s start-up poster child, but there are others quietly dominating their respective industries the world over. Envato Australian Taxation Office is a Melbourne-based design marketplace start-up with an estimated worth north of $1bn. Its co-founders, Cyan and Collis Ta’eed, are young rich-listers with a combined wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars.

One of Australia’s leading venture capital firms believes the future of fintech is rooted in emerging blockchain technology, predicting “cryptoasset” networks will be a trillion-dollar opportunity for companies and investors in years to come.

Speaking at the annual StartCon conference in Sydney last week, managing partner at OneVentures venture capital firm Michelle Deaker outlined what she believes will be the key aspects of the next “great fintech startup” — and where she would start a business if doing it today.

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About Simeon Duncan

Simeon has over a decade of high-level experience in Australian federal politics. He worked in communications and campaign roles as a Senior Advisor providing strategic advice, training and support to three Opposition Leaders.